Layout Direction (layoutDirection)

The Layout Direction property controls the direction in which child elements are laid out, which is also the direction of the Y-axis.

You can view the layout direction in the graphical report designer. The parent container of the currently focused item is highlighted by a dashed, slowly moving yellow border. The border moves in the layout direction and is open at the far side of the layout direction forming a “U” shape. For example, in Figure 1, the layout direction is top-to-bottom (as illustrated by the arrow). The box is not closed at the bottom.

Figure: A top-to-bottom layout direction

This figure is a screenshot showing the layout direction from top-to-bottom. The box is not closed at the bottom.
Tip:

Use expanded mode (select View > Expand Document) to view the report layout in further detail.

Type: Enum.

Valid values:

  • topToBottom
  • leftToRight
  • bottomToTop
  • rightToLeft
  • unturned
  • turnRight
  • upsideDown
  • turnLeft
  • inherit - the element inherits the orientation of its parent.
  • swapped - if the Swap X property is also set to swapped, the element inherits the swapped orientation of its parent.
  • horizontalNatural - follows the natural order of the language selected for the operating system of the server where the GRE resides. This option can be used to internationalize a report. For example, if you set the Layout Direction property to horizontalNatural, it will be leftToRight when the language is European, and rightToLeft for Arabic or Hebrew.
  • horizontalUnnatural - reverses the natural order of the language selected for the operating system of the server where the GRE resides.
  • verticalNatural - follows the natural order of the language selected for the operating system of the server where the GRE resides. This option can be used to internationalize a report. For example, if you set the Layout Direction property to verticalNatural, it will be TopToBottom when the language is Japanese or Chinese, and bottomToTop for Batak or Tagbanwa.
  • verticalUnnatural - reverses the natural order of the language selected for the operating system of the server where the GRE resides.

Default value: topToBottom; the positive X-axis extends 90 degrees right (clockwise) of the positive Y-axis.

You can find the Layout Direction property in the Orientation category of the Properties view.